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Decision times · North West

How long planning decisions take in Westmorland and Furness

56 days. Ranked 137 of 343.

In the year to September 2026, the median planning application decided by Westmorland and Furness took 56 days from submission to decision — exactly the eight week target. That is measured across 1,375 decisions where the council published both dates.

56 days
Median decision exactly the eight week target
137 of 343
UK rank down 1 place in a year
51%
Within eight weeks 79% within thirteen
132 days
Nine in ten decided by The wait to budget for

How Westmorland and Furness compares

Year to September 2026

Westmorland and Furness sits exactly on the national median of 56 days. Nationally 55% of applications are decided within eight weeks; here it is 51%.

The average here is 71 days, longer than the median because a handful of applications take very much longer than the rest. For planning around, 132 days is the more useful number: nine applications in ten were decided inside it.

  1. Within eight weeks the statutory target 698 51%
  2. Eight to thirteen weeks the major development band 393 29%
  3. Over thirteen weeks commonly an agreed extension 284 21%

The last few years

Each row is a full twelve months of decisions, ending in the quarter shown

Rolling twelve month windows overlap by nine months, so this reads as a trend rather than as four separate quarters. Only windows our records reach far enough back to measure in full are listed.

Westmorland and Furness: median days from application to decision, by rolling twelve month window. Source: PlanIndex, planindex.co.uk.
Twelve months to Median days UK rank
September 2026 56 137 of 343
June 2026 55 125 of 328
March 2026 51 78 of 243
December 2025 44 52 of 236
September 2025 55 136 of 324
June 2025 60 192 of 313
March 2025 60 194 of 315
December 2024 60 205 of 319

Against the same twelve months a year earlier, when the median was 55 days, Westmorland and Furness has moved down 1 place in the table.

By type of application

Year to September 2026 · types with at least ten decisions

The headline median mixes every kind of application together. A householder extension and an outline application for a housing site are not the same job, and the difference between them is usually larger than the difference between two councils.

  1. Other 11 decided 28 days
  2. Prior approval 136 decided 28 days
  3. Trees 289 decided 32 days
  4. Amendments 36 decided 35 days
  5. Lawful development 63 decided 55 days
  6. Conditions 138 decided 58 days
  7. Householder 270 decided 64 days
  8. Outline 13 decided 67 days
  9. Advertising 23 decided 75 days
  10. Heritage and listed buildings 87 decided 78 days
  11. Full applications 300 decided 85 days

How these types compare nationally

What Westmorland and Furness decides

Year to September 2026

Westmorland and Furness issued 1,375 decisions in the year to September 2026. Of the clear-cut outcomes, 93% were approvals: 1,094 granted against 79 refused. Split decisions, withdrawals and other outcomes sit outside that percentage rather than being counted as either.

Speed and approval rate are separate things. A council that refuses quickly is not doing the same job as one that negotiates an approval slowly, and neither figure alone says which served the applicant better.

Common questions

How long does a planning decision take in Westmorland and Furness?

The median planning application decided by Westmorland and Furness in the year to September 2026 took 56 days from submission to decision, exactly the eight week target. That is measured across 1,375 decisions where the council published both a start date and a decision date. It ranks 137 of 343 UK councils on decision speed.

Does Westmorland and Furness meet the eight week target?

51% of the 1,375 decisions Westmorland and Furness made in the year to September 2026 came within eight weeks of the application being received, and 79% within thirteen weeks. Nine in ten were decided within 132 days. Councils can agree an extension of time with an applicant, so a decision past eight weeks is not necessarily a missed deadline.

Is Westmorland and Furness faster or slower than average?

Westmorland and Furness sits exactly on the national median of 56 days.

Is Westmorland and Furness getting faster or slower?

Against the same twelve month window a year earlier, when its median was 55 days, Westmorland and Furness has moved down 1 place in the table. Its median has risen by 1 day.

What proportion of applications does Westmorland and Furness approve?

93% of the clear-cut outcomes Westmorland and Furness issued in the year to September 2026 were approvals: 1,094 granted against 79 refused. Split decisions, withdrawals and other outcomes are excluded from that percentage.

Cite these figures

Click the text to select the whole citation.

Westmorland and Furness planning decision times, year to September 2026: median 56 days from application to decision (exactly the eight week target), across 1,375 decisions with both dates published. 51% were decided within the eight week statutory target, 79% within thirteen weeks; nine in ten within 132 days. Ranked 137 of 343 UK councils on decision speed (national median 56 days). 93% of clear-cut outcomes were approvals. Source: PlanIndex, planindex.co.uk.